Week 19
View from the houseboats
This was the first week things started to feel a little more normalized with Theo back at school. Don’t get me wrong – lots of ups (Theo’s newest phrase “What a great observation!”) and downs (a complete meltdown when Theo did not having a snack to eat on the way home from school) – but a little more bandwidth and a little more sense of how essential childcare is to being able to work effectively as an academic parent. Don’t get me wrong, we continue to debate whether we are doing the right thing every day and the news is just horrifying on every front – but if you ignore that, and attend to only the ability to write and think, it feels better. On that note…I’m going to try to make these shorter so I have a little more time for research.
Gratitude & appreciation
A mentee got an R&R from a good journal for what I think will be her first first-authored paper!
Another mentee got a final acceptance for a paper!
Another mentee/collaborator got a project approved after years of delay!
I got a grant! An ADRD Pepper Center supplement to look at the experiences of people with comorbid dementia receiving hospice care vs. those dying from dementia or without dementia.
A mentor I asked to be more directive was, in fact, more directive and it was helpful!
(Re)Learnings and observations
Experience with pre-covid things: I had a dentist appointment on Wednesday then went back to my office for the first time since March to start packing it up for the move to Mission Bay. Very odd and disconcerting experience, though it didn’t feel unsafe, per se. Just remarkably anxiety-provoking to be doing things that were reminiscent to pre-March but also different.
The benefits of mentoring: I’ve just started mentoring someone on a new qualitative analysis project and I’m reminded how much helping someone else work through a dataset reminds me of ways to be more effective at getting my own work done. My dad always said the best way to learn “the material” was to teach others (and in this case the material is the process of writing a paper amid 1000 distractions). I’ve realized I’ve got a mental “formula” to help people work through the process (at least in my particular style of analysis) – now I just need to get a little more of it written down!
On mask-wearing: It’s interesting to observe mini cultural shifts in behavior. Our dock neighbors have gotten increasingly better at wearing masks at all times outdoors, which I noticed when there was a party honoring the birthday of the neighbor who died in March. Plenty of other people I know don’t wear masks outside because the risk is small – but I think our dock has started to embrace the concept of minimizing risk, especially since it’s difficult to be 6’ apart on a dock and we have many residents who are older adults and a few who are immunocompromised.
Actions to support Black and other people of color: One of my Patreon memberships sent This book is Anti-Racist: 20 lessons on how to wake up, take action, and do the work that I am looking forward to reading. Also looking forward to reading the UCSF Magazine article “An Epidemic of Inequality”
Update on goals from last week
Update NHATS manuscript draft with new data: Reviewed & discussed NHATS data with coauthors
Journal twice: Once
Ask mentees how I can mentor them better, or things that they appreciate when other mentors do: Forgot again
Goals for next week
Send updated NHATS manuscript to senior author
Journal twice
As in past weeks, I invite you to report in on your wellbeing, share 1-2 small goals you are hoping to work on next week (especially related to our collaborations, if we have one), and report in on your progress from last week's goals.
Thinking of you and hoping you and your loved ones stay healthy and safe.
Krista